Thanks for the Memories
by KayKayeLLe
Summary: Mary and Wilson have been dating since they were just teens. Now that they are both adults, how is their relationship going to be affected?
1. Routine Existence

Disclaimer: I do not own 7th Heaven, Mary, Wilson, any of the Camdens, or any part of GlenOak. I don't own Dr. West either, but I kind of do. Just don't steal his mothering personality, OK? And I'm not getting any financial gain from this either, so if this CW thing tries to track me down they won't get anything.

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A/N: This is a complete work in progress. I'm trying something kind of different and writing this story based on a real-life plot that has recently happened between two high-profile people. I won't tell you who because a) it's embarrassing and b) it would give the ending away. But, anyway, I hope you like it.

Oh, and Billy does not exist at all. Wilson was never married or any of that stuff. Mary never wrecked the gym but she's not playing basketball at college either. Maybe I'll have her as a former basketball player, maybe not, I haven't decided yet. Mary and Wilson both attend Crawford. And, most importantly, this is approximately winter of Season 6, which would be Wilson's senior year and Mary's sophomore year in college.

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**Thanks for the Memories**

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The promenade lights were just beginning to dim. The street lamps that scattered the central walkway were popping on one at a time. Mary looked over at Wilson and smiled at him and the routine existence they had settled into. They had been to the promenade probably fifty times since it opened a few years ago, but it still was enjoyable because she was there with him. With her hand in his, everything had meaning- even strolling past Pete's Pizza and Margaret's Books for the umpteenth time.

Mary and Wilson had been dating now for almost five years, since just before Mary turned fifteen. From the moment they met they both knew they had stumbled upon something special. Their first few dates had been awkward, completely unlike the pattern they were in now. They would go to the Pool Hall or to the movies and not know what to say to each other. But once the tension had been broken with that fateful first kiss, the duo was inseparable.

Every weekend Wilson found himself with Mary. He would sit with her and they would just talk for hours- as long as the Reverend and Mrs. Camden would allow. They discussed anything and everything – from silly things like their favorite movies to more important matters like religion. They seemed to be so different, but that was what made everything exciting and fun.

Mary's family didn't care for Wilson that much. They knew Mary loved him, but they all still felt as if Wilson were way too old for her. He was much more mature than Mary – or at least that was what they assumed – and worried that they had gotten too close and too serious too soon. No one worried about that more than Eric, who disliked Wilson for the sheer fact that he was in love with his eldest daughter and there was next to nothing he could do about it.

Wilson and Mary had been each other's first true loves, and the only romantic love they had ever known. It didn't faze Wilson, but Mary's family had some serious reservations about her not dating other men. Mary rarely listened to them anymore because she was twenty years and felt confident that she could make her own life decisions.

So far, Mary thought she had done a pretty god job. Besides picking Wilson, she chose her college by herself, chose to live at home, and decided on her major. The fact that Mary chose Crawford, Wilson's college, to live at home because she didn't like the dorms Wilson had had, and chosen the same major as Wilson all seemed to escape her.

Because of that, everyone worried that Mary was too dependant on Wilson – even Mary. Everyone, that is, except for Wilson. He knew deep down in his heart that Mary didn't need him, that if she had to Mary could get along just fine without him. That made him feel privileged to be with Mary. He knew that she could have any man or no man and she would do just fine, but she chose to be with him because she loved him. That in itself meant more to Wilson than he would ever mention to anyone, even to Mary. While Wilson was a romantic at heart, he still held on to some of that manly pride that the male species is noted for.

Wilson squeezed Mary's hand as they came to the end of the promenade to the parking lot and Mary squeezed back. As she looked into his eyes, the familiarity bred a serenity that she just would not be able to have with anyone else. They turned the corner and Mary walked adjacent to the brick wall of one of the shops and Wilson walked along the outside. Mary kept walking toward the car when Wilson stopped. He pulled her back by the hand and kissed her with fervor unmatched by any other four year relationship. Mary was so overcome by the passion that when they parted she had to reach back for the wall behind her to counteract her spell of Wilson-induced vertigo. He had literally taken her breath away.

It was passion like that that steered them away from the skeptics and the monotony of their own longevity. At that moment, nothing in the rest of the world mattered. They had each other, and that was everything.

Wilson smiled suavely as he opened the door for Mary to the rickety eight-year old Volvo and she stepped inside. He climbed into his side and started up the car. Before he pulled out of his spot they bother turned to each other and burst into laughter. They both knew what had happened. Just another typical Saturday night together. All was well.

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A/N: I'm so happy to be writing again! I think I'm going to try to name every chapter now. I haven't done that since _Dr. George_ I don't think. Anyway, this chapter is short but really wordy. No dialog though in the whole thing, though. Woo hoo! This chapter was mostly used just to explain things so that you have a bit of an idea as to what's going on, but then I change everything so I don't really see much of the point in this. Oh well.

I've written through Chapter 6, so there's more where this came from, but just so you all know the chapters are shorter than I've done in the past by about 300 words or so. I think I like it best that way, having written a little bit ahead. Next chapter Mary comes home and we are introduced to her family and their opinions. After that it starts to pick up a bit.

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Thanks for reading. Was your breath taken away? Review.

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	2. Doubtful

A/N: Here we go with the short chapters…

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Mary walked inside the door to her house with a smile on her face and was startled to see her father standing right inside the doorway awaiting her arrival. His arms were crossed over his chest and he had a scowl on his face. Mary was used to her father acting this way toward her, but she was still caught off guard. She usually had to do something to get this sort of reaction.

"Yes?"

"I saw you and Wilson."

Mary rolled her eyes and walked past him into the kitchen. Eric was right on her heels. She got out a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water.

"Don't you care that I saw you? Don't you care that anyone could have seen you making out in his car for a half an hour?"

Mary sighed and put down her glass on the counter. "At this point, no. I'm used to you spying on us and we weren't doing anything wrong. And if the rest of the neighborhood wants to watch us then good for them."

"Mary-"

"Dad, stop." She looked him square in the eyes. "I'm happy. You're not going to be able to get me to break up with Wilson. I love him."

Eric rubbed his forehead in frustration. "But how do you know that? You've never dated anyone else."

"Yes I have."

"That boy down the street that Matt used to be friends with doesn't count. You only saw him for about a month. I just don't want you to make a mistake. You're so sure that you love him but you've never really experienced being with someone else. How do you know that there isn't someone else out there for you that could be better?" He paused. "You know that I like Wilson-"

Mary put her hand on her hip. "No you don't."

"I do, I do. I just don't like that you're with him."

"Why do you want me to break up with him so badly? I'd be miserable if I did."

Eric knew this wasn't going well. It never went well; he just could never seem to get through to her the way that he wanted to. "Let me just say this. If you are supposed to end up with Wilson then I'm not going to be the one to stand in your way. The thing is I have no idea how you could possibly be sure since you've dated him and only him since you were fourteen. It's not healthy."

Mary chugged down the rest of her water and put her glass into the dishwasher. "Well, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree…again." Mary walked around the island and up the stairs to her bedroom in the attic that she shared with Lucy. She sat on her bed and took a few deep breaths. She was so tired of having that same conversation over and over with her father. She didn't know how she knew that she loved Wilson because, for all intensive purposes, he was right about her not knowing what it was like to be with any other man. But what she did know was that she loved being with him, and that was enough for right now.

Lucy, who had been in the room, plopped down on Mary's bed next to her. "Rough night?"

"No, normal night. Rough conversation with Dad."

"He still wants you to ditch Wilson?"

"Yeah. It seems the longer we continue to go out the more persistent he gets, like he can't bear for us to be together for another second. I really don't know why he's so upset. There are way worse guys I could be dating than Wilson."

"Yeah, like Jeremy."

Mary smiled sadly at her sister. "Luce, I thought we were past him."

"Well, you may be but I'm not so sure that I am."

"He was a complete jerk to you. No one should be allowed to treat you like that. Just forget about him."

"Well, you're right. He's no Wilson."

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A/N: See, I told you it was short- too short I think. This is going somewhere, I promise. I hate the beginnings of stories, especially stories with such a distinct vision and a specific ending like this one has. You spend so much time just setting down the framework that it ruins the whole beginning of it. And then you start thinking about everything that you have to foreshadow to justify the ending and the whole thing just gets screwed up. Anyway, this was an OK chapter. It would have been better had this been half of a chapter and this was combined with something else, but we can't have everything now can we.

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Next chapter Mary visits Wilson at his dorm.

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Reviews are no Wilson, but they're close. Kind of.

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	3. With Me

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A/N: Sorry this took so long! I just got too caught up in doing nothing I guess.

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Mary knocked on the door to Wilson's dorm room and was greeted by Paul, Wilson's roommate. His face fell when he saw her.

"Oh, it's just you."

Mary rolled her eyes at him. "Nice to see you, too." Mary stepped inside. "Waiting for someone I assume?"

"Oh, I'm always waiting for someone."

"So I've heard." Mary walked over to Wilson and gave him a quick kiss. "Hey sweetie."

"Hey. I didn't know you were going to stop by."

Mary and Wilson both sat on his bed. "Neither did I, but I was at the library working on this killer paper for Professor Stramaglia and I didn't want to just go home without seeing you tonight."

"Oh, I've had him. He wasn't that tough of a grader compared to some guys. Don't get too stressed over it. You'll be fine."

Wilson kissed Mary as Paul turned to him. "All right, I'm out of here. I'm off to meet Sophie. See you guys tomorrow."

Mary leaned against Wilson. "He seriously isn't coming back until tomorrow?"

"Nope," Wilson said. "At least he's considerate enough not to kick me out of the room. …And besides, he's never here. Half the time it's like living in a single."

Mary leaned her head onto Wilson's shoulder and sucked in her lips. "You don't feel jealous of Paul, do you?"

Wilson laughed. "No."

"I mean, he's with tons of girls."

"When you say 'with', do you mean _with_, or just that he dates them?"

"I mean _with_ them."

"Ah." He put his hands on Mary's shoulders and held her out in front of him. She still wouldn't look him in the eyes, so he lifted her chin up. "I've told you time and time again, that doesn't bother me. I'll be honest, I'm not ecstatic about it, and it's hard sometimes, but that's what you want and I'm fine with it. Besides, we've waited so long already that it's barely an issue."

"I know. Sometimes I feel bad for you, though. I'm holding out and you're so nice to me that I feel like you deserve-"

"I don't deserve anything Mary."

"But you're twenty-two and we've been dating for such a long time now."

He sighed. "Yeah, I know. So that means you just want to give up on everything and sleep together just because time has gone by?"

"No, forget it. Let's change the subject. What about the other thing, you not getting to date other women."

Again, Wilson laughed. "You want me dating other women?"

Mary hit him playfully. "No. But…"

"But what?" He knew something had to have happened.

"My dad's on my case again, bad. When I came home the other day, he said that I shouldn't be making out with you in the driveway, and that I can't possibly know that I love you since I've never dated anyone else. You don't agree with him, do you?"

"Well, I think you-"

"No." She shook her head. "I'm talking about you. How do you feel about that?"

"You know we have the same conversations about once every two weeks?" he said with a laugh.

"I'm being serious right now."

"OK, sorry." He changed his tone. "I really don't care. I have dated other girls when I was younger and you blew them all away. You're the one for me. I don't see the point in dating just for dating's sake, especially when I know I'm going to want to be with you anyway." Mary sighed. "I know you respect your father and all, but you have to follow your own heart. If you think we're right and you want to stay with me then stay with me."

"Fine, then, if you put it that way. I'll stay with you."

Wilson kissed her. "Somehow I thought you would."

She smiled and settled into his arms. "What time is it?"

"Uh," he craned his head to see the alarm clock sitting on his desk, "10:55."

"Oh great. I have to go then," she answered, knowing that her parents would freak if she came home much later than this. It was going to take her about twenty minutes to get home from here anyway. She stood and he followed her toward the door.

"I wish you could stay," Wilson said to her.

"One day I will, I promise."

"You've been saying that to me for years now."

"Sorry." She kissed his cheek. "When will I see you again?"

He shrugged. "I'll call you. Definitely this weekend, though."

"OK."

Wilson kissed Mary passionately, really not wanting her to leave, and then kissed the bridge of her nose. "Good night."

Mary kissed Wilson three times and then pulled away. "Good night."

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A/N: So, as you can see, Mary's starting to have some doubts… in everything basically. Later we'll see a bit of Wilson's side of that but for now it's mostly from Mary's POV. Chapter 5 you get to see Wilson and who he is in relation to this plot and what's going on in his head. As for the role he's playing in this relationship, you'll see that in Chapter 4, which is the next chapter. Second half of it.

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This is still modeled after a celeb couple. Review and guess them and you get a doggy treat- for you or your canine of choice.

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	4. Pensive

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Mary stood outside of the church all by herself as the wind blew against her. She crossed her arms over her stomach to retain some of her body heat in the chilly February weather. The last few stragglers were rushing into the church and she was still stuck there waiting, growing slightly annoyed with each passing second.

Before she became too peeved, Wilson came running around the corner and to the front of the church to greet his girlfriend. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "My alarm clock, and then Paul-"

"It's OK," she said to him as they linked arms. "But if you didn't want to come then you shouldn't have said that you'd come to church in the first place."

"I did want to come. I mean, I do. I'm here, aren't I?

"Yeah," she said with a sigh.

He stopped her before they entered the church. "Is something wrong?"

She didn't look him in the eye. "Wilson, the sermon's going to start in a second."

"So?"

"So? That's so rude. Do you know how hard my father works on his sermons?"

Wilson took a deep breath and counted to five. "Yes. It's just that I get the distinct feeling that you're trying to pick a fight with me."

"That's ridiculous," Mary said, tugged Wilson inside, and opened the doors. He was hardly convinced that that was not indeed what Mary was trying to do as they walked the long aisle up to their seats with the entire church staring at them moments before Reverend Camden came out to address the congregation.

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Wilson pulled Mary aside after the sermon; he was determined to find out what was up. To much of their delight, the family could see that something was wrong between the two of them. They loved every second of it.

"What?" Mary said.

"That's what I want to know. What. What did I do? Did I say something? You were short with me the whole time we were on the phone before and you barely said anything and now I'm here and you seem mad."

"I'm not mad."

"Then what are you?" He was trying so hard not to lose his patience with Mary, but he wasn't having much success.

"Pensive."

Wilson dropped the hold he had on Mary's hand. "What?" he said with a laugh. "Did you just say you were pensive?"

Mary got huffy. "See, I knew you wouldn't understand." Mary stormed off in the opposite direction of Wilson, her face noticeably upset.

Wilson didn't even bother to follow Mary. They'd fought before, although not very often, and he'd learned well enough in the past that it was best to leave her alone for a little while when she became angry like this. He went into the reception area and had one of Mrs. Camden's famous muffins. He sat at a table and waited for Mary to approach him.

Soon enough, Mary plopped herself down in the chair next to Wilson, orange juice in tow. She looked sad about what she had done and disappointed in herself. "I said I was pensive," she said quietly, "because I've been thinking about us."

This was going nowhere good. "OK. And?" He was no longer mad at her, just confused over why she was acting this way.

"And I love you, I really do, but I feel like a change is in order."

"What type of a change?" He didn't even bother with the 'I love you, too' bit.

"It's just that everyone has really been pressuring me a lot lately. Either – my family – either they think you're great or they hate you and then you keep telling me to forget them all and it's really starting to confuse me."

Wilson nodded; he suspected this was coming. Mary had been beginning to change again recently. "Don't listen to it, Mare. Any of it, not even me. The only thing you can trust is your heart, and you know what it wants. It all comes down to whether or not you want to make your own decisions or let yourself continue to be bullied by suggestion."

"You think I'm easily bullied?"

"Maybe bullied wasn't the right word. I know you'd never admit it, but other people's opinions are important to you. So, on some level, you take what everyone says to heart and you consider doing what everyone else wants. But then you get in trouble because the other half of you keeps saying 'forget them all, I'm my own person'.

"I like the second Mary better, not just because I get what I want, but that's who you are. That's what makes you sexy, that 'take no prisoners' attitude you get when you're determined. I love that."

Mary leaned over and kissed him. "You scare me."

This was a new one. "Really?"

"Yeah. You know me so well that it genuinely scares me."

"There's still a lot that I don't know about you."

"Yeah, but come on. You just went into a mini-speech about my personality and everything you said was right on. That's sexy, sexier than my 'forget them all' attitude I get."

He laughed and reached for her hand. "We're OK then?"

"Yeah." She lowered her head. 'I'm sorry."

He lifted her chin with his other hand. "Don't be sorry. Just kiss me again and all will be forgiven."

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A/N: This story. I shake my head at it. I was so enthused and then I stopped caring about it completely. It has stalled so baldy that I don't know how to get this back on track. This was supposed to be at 60,000 words in a few weeks. I don't think I even have 6,000 yet. There is still a bit of determination in me, simply because I refuse to leave a story on here permanently unfinished. Once this miraculously disappears one day you'll know I've officially given up hope. Until then, there might be an update or two. We'll see.

And I feel like I need to explain this chapter a bit. I'm not getting across what I want to at all. Not only do the words suck, but the emotions aren't there either. You're supposed to feel a bit of Mary's trepidation as she transitions into adult life, and Wilson being slightly fed up with her. But, underneath all of that is this comfortable familiarity that they would never get with anyone else. Make sense? Good. Now why can't I get that into my story? This is the problem I'm facing.

Anyway, three more chapters are already done after this one. After that, who knows? It's a waiting game I guess.

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Ho hum. Review if you love me.

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	5. Spring Break Blahs

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A/N: Sorry about the long break in updates. I got really wrapped up in doing nothing this summer and was unsure of the direction of this story. But now I'm back. Almost with a vengeance.

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"Dude, you're totally whipped."

The sound of Paul's voice throughout the tiny dorm room snapped Wilson out of it. The only thing he had done for the past week was homework and papers. Paul would come in and out, enjoying the social scene the college had to offer, and the only time Wilson left was to go to class. He was really starting to drag.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. That woman of yours doesn't come around for a few days and you go into this tailspin of textbooks, calculators, and spreadsheets. It's pathetic."

"Hey, if you studied half as much as I did then you might not be in jeopardy of not graduating in May."

"True, but who's having more fun."

Wilson closed the book that was sitting in his lap. "Definitely you."

"So what happened? When was the last time you heard from her?"

"I saw her on Sunday and she was acting weird, and then I called her on Tuesday and she said she'd call me back and I haven't heard from her since."

"Ouch. That's not good."

"I know."

"What did you two fight about?"

"Nothing really. Her parents don't like me and I think it's making her crack."

"Then ditch her and go have some fun."

"Paul, you don't just ditch someone you've been with for almost five years."

"Yeah, you go out and find someone new, and then you dump her." Wilson just shook his head and Paul stood up. "Well, whatever man. You're welcome to come out with me tonight."

"I'll pass."

"Fine, your loss." Paul opened the door and almost walked right into Dr. West who was in the hallway trying to come into the room. "Oh, hello Sir."

"Hi Paul," Dr. West said in his deep, booming voice.

"You might want to talk to your son. That girl of his is really throwing him for a loop and they haven't even broken up yet," Paul said, and with that disappeared down the hallway.

Dr. West came inside and saw Wilson sitting quietly on the edge of his extra-long twin bed.

"Paul's starting to get on my nerves."

"I told you I would take the money for you to dorm here and put it toward an apartment for you at the beginning of the year but you said no. Remember that."

"I didn't do that because I knew Mary's parents would freak out if I had my own apartment."

"Speaking of Mary, what was Paul saying about her?"

"Nothing." Wilson sighed. "I haven't heard from her in a while. Tomorrow it will be a week since I last saw her."

"Did something happen?"

"Well, obviously, but nothing I'm aware of."

Dr. West saw the pained expression on his son's face. He knew that this wasn't a good time in his relationship with Mary and that Wilson seemed powerless to do much of anything. Instead, Dr. West decided to take matters into his own hands. "Your mother and I were talking, and you know our house on the lake?" Wilson nodded. "We don't use it nearly enough. You have Spring Break coming up soon, right?"

"Two weeks."

"Why don't you take Mary up there for a while? She'll like it up there."

"Alone? Are you sure?"

"What? You're not going to burn the place down or anything." Dr. West reached into his back pocket. "Here's the key. Have a good time."

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Wilson knocked on the back door of the Camden's house and then entered without waiting for anyone to let him in. Thankfully, Mary was sitting in the kitchen with her schoolbooks sprawled out all over the wooden table.

"Wilson?" she said looking up. "What are you doing here?"

He sat down next to her. "I was going to call, but I figured you'd just blow me off again so I just came over."

"I didn't blow you off," Mary maintained. "I said I'd call you back."

"Yeah, and you didn't. Anyway, forget it. Guess who stopped by my dorm this afternoon?"

"The queen of England? I don't know. I was studying. You can't just barge into my house without-"

He completely ignored Mary's attempt to kick him out of her house. "My dad. My parents have this lake house about 25 minutes north of here, and he gave me the key and said we should go up there for Spring Break."

"What? Wilson-"

"We don't have to go for the whole week. We can go for a few days or for a weekend or something."

"You want me to go on vacation with you?" She didn't fully understand what was going on through of all his excitement.

"No, I want you to go away with me. For a few days. We can spend some time together; it will be good for us."

As much as Mary wanted to reject him, as much as she was unsure as to what would happen on this trip, a big part of her still wanted to go with him. However, if she accepted his offer right away, it would completely undue her recent attempts at getting some space from him. "Can I think about it?"

"Yeah, sure." Wilson paused for a second and recounted his meeting with Mary. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just waltz in here like this."

"It's OK." She smiled.

Wilson reached out for her hand and squeezed it. "OK. Bye Mare." He got up and opened the door that he had come in.

"Hey Wilson," Mary yelled out after him. He turned back toward her. "Want to go to a movie later tonight? I just have to get this stuff done, but we can go at seven or something."

"Sure," he said with a sly smile on his face. "I'll see you then." He had pushed his way back into Mary's heart, the place where he longed to be above all else.

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A/N: This is only him asking her about the lake house? Man am I way past this. This just shows me how long ago I wrote this. Ridiculous on my part. I really should stop this whole "needing to be advanced before I post more" mantra I've gotten hooked on as of late. It really isn't conducive to getting a story finished.

There will be more of this. I want to try and pump out a god majority of what I have written in the next week or so. Anyway, that's what will be coming up loyal readers.

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Wilson really loves Mary. Major sap? Review.

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	6. Design on a Quarter

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A/N: Sorry for the long period between updates. I've been busy with lots of stuff.

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Mary closed the door of that stupid blue Volvo and took in her surroundings. The grass on either side of the rock-covered driveway was greener than she had ever seen in GlenOak. The area where the houses were had no trees around them, but back where they came from there was a plethora of tall pines and oaks to choose from, dotting the perimeter of the landscape. The only thing missing was the lake itself. No matter how much she tried, Mary couldn't find it.

"Where's this lake you've been gushing about?"

"Oh," he said with a smile, "on the other side of the house. It's the 'backyard', if you will."

"Ah, I see."

Wilson went around to the back of the car and unlocked the trunk. He grabbed both of Mary's bags first, and then reached for his and the groceries they had purchased on their way up and closed the trunk. He began to waddle away from the car and make his way to the stairs that would lead him to the front door of the house.

He grunted. "What's so funny?"

"You. I can carry my own bags you know."

"I've got them, I've got them. Just come on up."

Mary followed Wilson up the stairs that seemed to have taken as much wood to build as was in over half the trees she could see around her. The house itself, from the outside at least, looked like an upscale version of the traditional log cabin. Wilson took out the key and, without ever putting down the bags, opened the door.

"Now, it's probably a little musty since I don't think anyone has been up here in a few years, but this is the place." He was beaming with pride. It was so cute that Mary just wanted to kiss him right then – but she didn't.

The house itself had three stories, two that were visible from where Mary was standing. The ceilings were high, probably twenty feet or so, and everything was made out of thick, dark brown wood. All the furniture was wooden, too, and the only color in the house came from a plaid fabric of red and green reminiscent of Christmas.

He looked at her and smiled. "So? What do you think?"

"It's really nice," she said with a genuine smile. "Thanks for bringing me here, and tell your father thank you."

"Well, you're welcome. Wouldn't want to be here with anyone else."

"Can I see this infamous lake you've talked so much about now?"

"Sure, come with me." Wilson brought Mary up the stairs to the hallway that joined the two wings of the third floor. He pushed open some long draperies that went from the ceiling to the floor that was made out of that same Christmas fabric and revealed the lake.

About ten feet back behind the house was the lake- the whole reason for this property. Mary had to admit that it was a breathtaking sight to see. It was just like lakes were always pictured in the movies, complete with canoes lined up on the sides of houses and bunches of piers jetting out from each of the houses.

"Wow," she said and leaned against Wilson. "How long have you had this place?"

"Since I was in…fifth or sixth grade."

"Why doesn't anyone come up here?"

"We used to come up occasionally when I was little, but the busier my father got the less we came. And then I started getting older and I didn't want to go anymore, so we kind of just stopped. Besides, my dad bought it as more of an investment than a vacation house. Already it's appreciated about $300,000 in value."

Mary was shocked. "Wow."

"Yeah, that's what I said." He put his arm around her waist. "So, want to get unpacked?"

"Sure. But, um…" Wilson knew this would be trouble. "How are we doing this now? How are we sleeping?"

"It's up to you. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"I know." She was growing quiet.

"Well, let me say this. I'm not going to touch you, and I think we're mature enough to share a bed- just to sleep."

"Fine." She smiled.

"Really?" Wilson was surprised. Mary usually stood her ground a lot more than she was doing right now.

"Yeah, I'll live dangerously for once."

Wilson kissed her cheek and walked down to retrieve the bags. He brought them up and into the master bedroom. Mary rummaged through one of her suitcases and pulled out some clothing.

"What are you doing?"

She just smiled. "Don't you want to go swimming?" she asked, and rushed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Five minutes later she came out wearing a navy triangle bikini to find Wilson already dressed in gray and black boardshorts that came to the middle of his knees.

"You, uh, you – wow." Wilson was at a loss for words. He'd never seen Mary so unclothed before, she was always so reserved, and his eyes were glued to her. "You're-"

Mary's cheeks turned bright red and she bit her bottom lip. "Thanks." Her eyes ran over his body just the same. "You are, too."

"So," he said, finally tearing his eyes away from her, "here are some towels, and there are some inner tubes downstairs, and then we can go in."

"OK." She gave Wilson the final once over and then walked out the door in front of him. "Let's go."

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A/N: Was this chapter insanely short or is it just me? I'm sure it's short. And, one other thing, if you're like me and thinking that it's probably March and they're going swimming, just go with it. The "lake house" is in southern-ish California, so it might be possible to swim then. I don't know, I've never been to California myself.

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If you don't hate me now for this abandonment, review.

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	7. A Good Wrong

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Mary stood at the end of the pier, curling her toes over the wood planks. She looked down at the water and then glanced over at Wilson.

"How cold do you think it is?"

"My guess is pretty cold. It's not like it's the middle of summer or anything. It's barely spring."

"Should we just jump for it then?"

"Of course," Wilson responded. He took the inner tubes off of the pier and threw the two of them into the water. "Let's go."

"OK. On three. One-"

Wilson reached over and put his hand on her arm, stopping her from counting. "Hold on. You're not going to trick me and watch me jump in while you stand here, are you?"

She smiled slyly. "Of course not. That's the oldest trick in the book. Just trust me."

"Fine, but I'll count," he said, still not ready to concede his power to Mary. "One, two, three."

Mary and Wilson both jumped in at the same time. After about two tenth of a second hang time, they both crashed into the water below them. It was cold, but not as cold as either of them had expected it to be. They reached about three-quarters of the way down into the lake and then swam back up to the top.

They both swam their ways to the tubes. Mary lay lazily across the inner tube in the crisp water, the middle of her body falling through the hole and getting wet. Wilson treaded around next to her, his arms resting atop the tube and his body through the hole. She smiled looking over at him and he sucked in his lips.

"This is so relaxing," she said. "School is the furthest thing from my mind."

"Me, too, until you mentioned it."

She giggled. "Sorry."

This was the first little bit of free conversation they had had since they had gotten to the lake house. "Now that you're talking to me," Wilson started, opting to take the lighthearted approach to this topic, "tell me what's been bothering you lately. You've been acting weird since I came to church with you a few weeks ago, before that actually."

"It's nothing." She tried to shoo him away from the topic.

"Tell me anyway," Wilson insisted.

"Everyone was pressuring me to do one thing or the other and it just got to me. I started getting really confused. But I'm OK now. I love you, and I know you love me."

"I do." He tried hard to reassure her. "I love you, really."

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Mary ran her fingers through the back of her damp hair, separating the strands in an attempt to dry them faster. She walked down the stairs and to the kitchen where she knew she would find Wilson. What she didn't expect, however, was to see him whipping up an early dinner for the two of them.

She stood back behind him, just watching for a few seconds, and then spoke. "What are you doing?"

He turned around and smiled at her. "What does it look like I'm doing? Cooking. We need to eat something."

"Yeah, I know." She walked closer to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "Want me to help?"

"Well, if you want you can stir that pasta."

"I'd love to." Mary picked up the pasta spoon and began stirring. The silence, however, made her uneasy. She had to keep talking so that the gravity of their little attempt at playing house didn't seem so heavy. "You like to cook, don't you?"

"I guess." Wilson could see through Mary's ploy all too well. "Why? What?"

"What 'what'? Why do you always think something's up?"

"Because with you, something _is_ always up. You scheme. Everything you do is part of some grand plan."

She stopped stirring the pot and put down the utensil on the counter. "Is not."

"Is, too."

She sighed and turned to him. "Don't you think this is weird, that we're just up here all alone for three days? Is this OK that we're doing this?"

"Mary, you're twenty years old, not fifteen. You can do whatever you want to do."

"I know. It's not that. It just feels wrong." Wilson's face dropped and Mary backtracked. "I mean, a good wrong. Wrong as in dangerous."

Wilson put down the fork he was holding and came over toward Mary. He looked her square in the eyes and then kissed her. "Calm down, honey, and trust me."

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Wilson pulled down the sheets for him and Mary as he waited for her to finish brushing her teeth. She approached the bed tentatively and then sat down. Wilson got into bed, thinking nothing of it, and waited for her to do the same. Slowly she did, trying desperately to control her anxiety. The last thing she needed would be for Wilson to know that she wasn't sure if she was OK with this or not. She had tried to play it so cool before; it would ruin her mask she had put on the entire time she was there.

Mary lay next to him, sheets pulled up to her chin, trying desperately to leave him some nonverbal clues. Wilson, even though he was a smart man, failed to pick up on any of them- or, as Mary had suspected, he didn't want to see them. He was too content with this "perfect" relationship they had. He reached over and pulled Mary in close to him. She rolled onto her side and placed her head upon his shoulder, surprisingly enough finding some solace in his touch.

"Isn't this nice?"

"Yeah," she lied.

They sat for a few moments in silence before Wilson spoke again. "Do you think this will feel different once we're married?"

The thoughts whizzing through Mary's mind went to a screeching halt. Married? What? Who said anything about getting married? She was only twenty years old. "Um..." She tried to come up with the safest answer possible. "Maybe."

"Yeah," he said with a smile. Wilson kissed her forehead and hen reached up to turn off the light. "Good night."

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A/N: The problem that I have with this is continuity. Sometimes se's enamored with him, others she can't stand him, it really doesn't make much sense. And then this marriage thing just comes out of nowhere, which I guess is almost the point, but it was poorly executed.

Overall, I'm quite dissatisfied. That's about all I have to say.

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Good night, Mary. Good night, Moon. Good night, reviewers.

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	8. Rings and Things

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A/N: Yes, it's been a while. I found this laying around my thumbdrive and decided I might as well post it.

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This is the story with Mary and Wilson in college, dating for a while, they go to a lake house, those things.

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Wilson dropped Mary off at her house two days later. Mary got out of the car and he didn't even say a word to her. She grabbed her bag from the trunk and stood at the side of the vehicle, waiting for him to say something. "All right, fine. Well... bye."

Finally he turned to her. "I'll call you in a few days or something. Before school starts up again." With that, he put his car in reverse and tore out of the driveway so he wouldn't have to talk with her. He didn't know what he was expected to say.

Mary sighed heavily, took a moment to collect herself, and then went into the house through the back door. Annie was standing in the kitchen with Eric. Eric was reading the paper and Annie was scrambling some eggs for breakfast.

"You're home early," Eric remarked upon seeing Mary. "How was your trip?"

"Fine."

"Just fine?"

"Yes, just fine."

"Did Wilson leave?"

"Yeah. He, uh, he was tired so he wanted to get back and go to sleep. We were up early."

"I see."

"Do you want some breakfast honey?" Annie asked.

Mary smiled. Hopefully if she did, her parents wouldn't wonder about the horrible time she had had. "No, we stopped somewhere on the way back. Thanks though. I'm going to go unpack."

"...All right." Both Annie and Eric thought this behavior was odd.

Mary did the only thing she knew might actually help her: she wet straight upstairs to the attic bedroom ad shook awake her sleeping sister.

"Luce. Luce, I'm home," she repeated a few times while shaking. "Get up."

"OK, OK. Sheesh. You're going to give me whiplash."

Mary stopped shaking and sat down on Lucy's bed. "Sorry."

Lucy rubbed her eyes and then looked over at Mary. "So what's wrong?"

"Why do you think something's wrong?"

"Um, because you came up here and started shaking me."

"It could be good news."

"Is it?"

"I wish," Mary said with a sigh. "Wilson and I had this huge fight and now I don't even know if he wants to be with me anymore."

"Wow." For this Lucy sat up. "Why?"

"You can't tell anyone any of this, epsecially Mom and Dad because they'd love to hear it. They'd be able to find tons of reasons to break us up."

"OK, I promise. Now spill."

"We were laying in bed, the first night that we were there - we just shared a bed, nothing happened. He was true to his word on that one," Mary said, correctly anticipating her sister's reaction. "Anyway, we were in bed, and he asked me if I thought that it would feel different if we were married."

"If what would feel different? You two didn't-"

"No, I told you. We just shared a bed."

"You shouldn't have done that," Lucy said.

"Luce, I know that. But at the time I couldn't say no to him."

"This really is going nowhere good, is it?"

"No, it's not," said Mary. "He was talking about marriage, and I started to freak out. I don't want to get married yet. I'm not even halfway done with college. So the next morning I wasn't really talking to him, and he started asking me if he did something."

"Did you tell him you don't want to marry him?" Mary didn't answer. "Oh, Mary. Why'd you do that?"

"Because I'm an idiot, and he's a great guy, and I like to screw things up."

"I'm guessing he didn't take it that well?"

"No. We fought the whole time we were there and then the whole ride back this morning. And we didn't just fight over little things, this was big stuff. Stuff I never wanted to tell him ...or anyone else for that matter."

"What do you mean?"

"You know when you feel one way about something or someone, but you don't intend on ever telling them that because you know it would destroy them?" Lucy nodded, still not fully understanding what Mary was getting at. "I said all of that and now he hates me."

"I doubt he hates you." Mary shrugged her shoulders. "How did he leave things with you? What was the last thing he said?"

"Before he left he said he'd call me before Spring Break was over."

"Then he doesn't hate you."

"But he should." Mary got off of Lucy's bed and flopped down on her own. "I told him that I don't know if I ever want to marry him, that I don't really want to have kids, and that I think he's invested more in this relationship than I have and that creeps me out. He's this perfect, great, amazing guy, but I don't know if I can keep this up at this intensity."

"And he's ready to get even more serious."

"Exactly." Mary paused and looked away.

"What?"

"I don't know if I should tell you."

"Come on, you tell me everything," Lucy pleaded.

"I know, but..." Mary didn't know where to draw the line, at what point telling Lucy something would be more than just sharing the details with her sister and would betray Wilson's trust in her. "You can't tell anyone you know this. I think it would really embarrass him."

"...OK." Lucy hoped that Mary wasn't about to tell her something that she really didn't want to hear.

"Wilson told me that at the end of this year, after he graduated, that he was going to propose to me. He'd been looking at rings and was planning the whole thing out."

Lucy didn't know what to say. "Wow."

"I know. He really, he just broke my heart. But I can't. I'm not there yet."

"So what do you want then, ideally?"

"I don't know. I guess I want to slow things down. It's too much right now."

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A/N: Wait so what happened here? I'm all confused. This was just Mary's arrival back home. See, there's another chapter after this one that is kind of similar. Wilson wants marriage. Ah ha.

Well, there are a few more chapters written of this one. Just wrote another chapter. I was slightly inspired while walking to the cafeteria all by my lonesome this afternoon.

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Review if you want more.

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	9. Secrets Kept

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Later that night, Mary scrubbed one of the last pans from dinner and placed it into the dishwasher. Mary and Lucy were the ones commissioned to help their mother with the dishes that night. The two had stayed up in their room pretty much the whole day talking about what had happened between Mary and Wilson, thinking their parents were none the wiser. But, as always, a mother knows.

"Mare, you've been quiet all day since you came home. Is everything all right?"

"Yeah."

"What did you and Wilson do while you were up there?" Eric and Annie had spent the day speculating about what went on at that lake, but Annie was more interested in finding out what happened right from the horse's mouth.

_"...So, so you don't want to get married ever?" he asked her. Mary could see the pain on his face._

_"No, I do. But not for a long, long time."_

_"This is news to me, Mare."_

_"I didn't know you were this serious about us. I would have said something sooner."_

_"We've been dating for nearly five years. How much more of an indication did you need? ...And no you wouldn't have told me that you didn't want to get married."_

_"Wilson! You're not listening to me! It's great that you're ready for all of that but I'm not. I need some more time. Quit rushing me!"_

_"Fine. You know, silly me, all this talk of you loving me and never wanting to leave me, I guess I mistook that for real feelings."_

_"I love you, Wilson. A lot. You know that I love you."_

_"Fine. Whatever. I'm sleeping on the couch tonight. Good night."_

"Um..." Mary snapped out of it. "We swam a little, but it was kind of cold. We cooked and we talked-"

"You cooked?"

"Well, Wilson cooked. I helped."

"That sounds nice," Annie said.

"Yeah." Mary was relieved that her mother's interrogation had seemingly ended. She didn't know how much more of that she was going to be able to withstand without cracking under the pressure. Nothing would be worse than letting the fact that she and Wilson were having problems slip to one of her parents. This was exactly the opportunity they'd been waiting years upon years for.

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Mary was definitely wiped from the events of the past few days. When she lay in bed that night, though, she couldn't help but miss him. Mary wasn't lying when she said that she loved Wilson. But she didn't exactly tell the truth to Lucy either. Mary and Wilson hadn't spent any of the nights alone.

"Fine. Whatever. I'm sleeping on the couch tonight. Good night."

Mary turned away from him and then turned back. "Wilson." He looked at her and tears began to stream down her face. "Wilson, I'm sorry that I-"

Wilson grabbed her and kissed her. Without breaking the kiss, he moved her back onto the couch. This was the most physicality that their relationship had seen in many months. Even though they were both so angry, at least that ignited the passion they had long lost. They kissed for half an hour before Wilson pulled away from Mary, wrapped the two of them up in a blanket, and fell asleep without a word. She should have just explained herself the next morning ad maybe everything wouldn't have ended so horribly wrong.

Mary wanted that moment back. When things were good with them, they were really good. That's what kept them together for so long. They were both so in love. Mary closed her eyes and rolled over in bed alone. She contemplated getting up and calling him, but she didn't want to seem too desperate. Besides, she was sure he needed the break; they both did. She decided to wait for him to contact her, and when he did things would finally be resolved... at least for now.

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A/N: I love the end scene of this, when Mary revels in the information that she withheld from Lucy or whoever. I need to write a whole story of random lovey-dovey things. But this chapter was too short, under 700 words. …Oh I can't even think in here forget.

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Don't withhold your feelings from me! Review.

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